My head whirls when I'm at Body Worlds (and at the Omni Theatre too)

The much anticipated Body Worlds exhibition came to Singapore only recently, and I bet many out there are wondering if it's worth a visit. A few things to note: every piece of display artifect is real, some of them are dismembered in such details that you can see the many dimensions of the organs inside the human body. If you faint at the sight of pig intestines, then this is not for you.

A very sombre atmosphere engulfs you the moment you step into the hall. Since the exhibit emphasizes on the cycle of life, a showcase touching on human birth and erm, sex, is presented. I was shocked by the display of foetuses, not one, but in around 6-9 stages of pregnancy. The sight of the poor lifeless babies were so heart-wrenching that I almost teared on the spot. Dear realised that those dead foetuses were real only after we left the building. I guess she couldn't stomach the fact that unborn babies do perish in this cruel world.

I was thinking, if it was an abortion, how could the baby be vacuumed out in one piece? Maybe there was a terrible car accident involving the mother and the child, and you know what happens next. Shudders ~ I've ever watched a video posted by Ally on her facebook, showing gruesome scenes of the remnants of abortions, especially when someone uses a tweezer to pick up a broken leg from a mangle of bodies. Or the part where the dead foetus (roughly 6-7 months old) was being wrapped up like Chai Tao Kuey with a paper. Eeeew!! From that day onwards, I am an Anti-Abortion Alan! A.A.A!

There were various other things on display, some which I felt are very disturbing and left a deep impression on me. Some models worthy of a mention are:

The Chess Player:
Since this is one of the few plastinations that are seated, the brain is at a comfortable level for viewing. Make sure to check out the back where you can see a cross section of his spine.

Rearing Horse with Rider:
Another breath-taker. The setting of this display is rather thought-provoking, as the rider and his skeleton are adjacent to each other while both are riding the horse. The rider is also holding his own heart in one hand, and the horse's in another!

Giraffe:
I do not have to tell you where to find it! I was blown away with this one, especially at the back where you tend to compare your body parts with it. Hmm. The buttocks were already at a higher position than my head. I think the giraffe is a wonderful creation by god, nothing comes close to its height! I've read about World Book comparison charts of Man and other Mammals in the past, but the experience is not as real as this. Maybe too real?

A body that is dissected into many parts and left dangling in the air, with some reindeers in front pulling a sledge:
It looks like it's trying to portray Santa Clause and the reindeers. This one can make all of Rudolph red.

Emphasis is on leading a good life, that's what most of the posters found in the hall tell you. An interesting fact that I've learnt is that given our size according to the mammalian rule, human beings can only live up to 20-odd years. But over the years, the knowledge to our way of survival is being passed down from generation to generation, and we outlived our initial lifespan by 4 times! Woah imagine if I'm living in prehistoric times, and I'm about to die now? My driving instructor is surely going to hammer me for disrupting his coaching schedule.

Teehee.

Or maybe he'll flatten me with his Flintstone road-roller. Teeheehee.

Anyway, there is also a body donation programme going on and if you are interested in more details, kindly click on the link below

Plastination and Body Donation

Don't worry, they won't stuff you with Play-Doh. Plastination is a very sophisticated process to preserve your body which involves using materials like acetone, plastic and silicone rubber. I'm considering whether to donate or not, I'm just afraid it'll be a big OUCH when they dissect me after I die, and I'll end up chasing everyone in my birthday suit and a half-cut penis, not to mention marbles dangling between my legs like instant noodles with fishballs tied to them.

Those interested in the exhibition may book online. Tickets are priced at $22 and $14 for adults and children respectively, inclusive of $1 booking fee per head, with the body intact of course. Better hurry if you wish to go on the during the upcoming weekend as the tickets are often being snapped up fast.

After the intensive 2 hours of Body Worlds, we caught Space Station at the Omni Theatre. It was the last day of screening for this show and surprisingly, only 4 rows of seats were occupied. The 40 min show is puke-inducing and boring, Dear can vouch for that! What's up with watching astronauts floating and repairing space equipment? There's nothing much I can say here except that the commentary was done by Tom Cruise. I'm thinking of all people, why choose him? Why not Aerosmith???

Still, it was hell of an education tour for us last Sunday. Thinking ahead, we should try to eat healthily and exercise more! And the most important thing I've realised for this trip is -





Wei wei wei, this rule applies to all the wanting-to-be-smokers out there also hor.

Another embarrassing Ris Low video.

I hate to say this, but is she going to be a female version of Steven Lim??
Maybe I can still tahan Steven Lim, but Ris? OMG.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpHoHJ4DFIQ&feature=player_embedded.

Really speechless.

Sembonia Bag 'My Style' - Bag Design Competition at Zirca

I happen to be one of the er.. lucky ones to be invited by The Missus to a Sembonia Bag Design Competition at Terka Zirca this evening. Frankly speaking, my impression of this brand is at least better than the parent brand Bonia. Somehow, it doesn't look too trying as Bonia with all the boring monograms mounted on it. At least I think if I'm a woman, I'd sling a Sembonia to work!

Like how Mindee Ong (881) flaunts it. Looks Prada-ish IMHO.

I'm sure it suits her pretty well!

We were late for the Fashion Show cos all of us were busy filling our growling tummies earlier at Central. When we reached there, a band was playing various commercial hits on an accoustic note. We plunged our asses comfortably on a sofa behind a pillar that was blocking our view. No wonder it was unoccupied in the first place.

Performing Jason Mraz's I'm Yours.

The door gift was pretty thoughtful too.

One of the door gifts.

Can you make out what is it?

A 1GB Thumbie!

Pretty cool design huh? There's even a $30 voucher in the bag. I wonder if I can use it to upgrade the thumbie to 2GB.

And the ladies.

Dear, Chewling and Evelyn.

My 1st clubbing experience with her.
I think she was hoping I could dance with her, but that never materialized!

Dear, I'll give you a private lap dance tomorrow ok? Shhh ~ Keep it on the low.

Then the results for the winning bag was going to be announced. While they were anticipating which design scored points, I was more interested in looking at some other bags: that is to keep an eye on my companions' belongings.

The results were announced within moments and Dear said that the winning design is not what they expected it to be. Oh no! But I don't really bother lah, all the while I was trying to get high with just one glass of Bourbon Coke. I'd wish Dear would invite me to a Prada Bag Design competition anytime. Hehe.

The event ended literally as soon as it started. That's it? Still hungry for entertainment and having time to kill, we ended up looking for somewhere to chill and landed ourselves at this dessert shop Nectarie le Dessert Patisserie in Clarke Quay, just beside Lunar.

Tiramisu with Coffee IC.

Raad Wine Pear Strudel with crustz that go Boomz.
(Throws out both palms wide open)
Can't detect any hint of red wine in the pear either.

Overall verdict: Slightly above mediocre.
Er.. Mediocre'dit' ?

I had an additional Iced Latte that tastes like Mcdonald's. The bill amounted to $48 which I think it's still ok given that we were very full after finishing the pastries. My personal favourite is still the Tiramisu as I'm a fan of coffee. It's not too sweet nor bitter, feels just nice on my tastebuds. At least it doesn't give me the twisted-lips effect like what the others did.

Service is applaudable, with the crew captain making sure we were shifted from a smoking area to a non-smoking area, as soon as someone from the non-smoking area left. Our order was also served promptly. Well, it'll be a nice place to visit if you just want a chill-out session.

Alas! That's our Friday evening! Can't wait to blog about the launch of HTC Tattoo at ButterFactory's, if I'm invited that is.

Baby's near railway death: Hindsight in design of railway platform?

Me and the Missus caught the news report on the baby who was literally rolled over by a train. From the CCTV footage, it's clear that the pram rolled towards the edge of the railway and toppled over just moments before the train came to a screeching halt. Everyone including the mother who was interruptedly rudely from her conversation with another woman, was equally astonished and shocked while they helplessly watched the train mow over the pram with the baby still in it.

See the full shocking video here.

I was shocked too. The moth flying around the living room could've just landed in my agape mouth. But the good news was that the infant was alive and escaped the tradegy with a bruise!

How in the world is that possible? It was very clear that the pram 'emptied its contents' onto the railway after hitting the tracks upside down. And the train went directly over it. It's a pure miracle!

That leaves me with one afterthought: Why is the platform constructed in such a way that has the slope declining towards the tracks? If you have noticed, the pram moved rather fast so that suggests the slope is quite steep. But I personally feel that it's a major fault that the Melbourne authorities have overlooked. We in Singapore don't face such problems but I think more could be done to prevent such things from happening.

We've seen many cases last year, where people have committed suicide by jumping onto the tracks. Why aren't the local authorities doing anything about it? What if an accident happens? Can't there be any grilles or glass windows to seperate the tracks from the platforms, like what they did for underground MRT stations?

I hope someone can take action soon, especially for the transport authorities in Melbourne. My heart goes out to the mum whose baby has miraculously survived the incident, and to those whose Sunday shoppings on a trolley have become pancakes once too often. Allelujah!

I want to listen to Damien Rice

all over again. It's been a long while since it felt so painful.